ADHD Treatment Is Not A Luxury

ADHD can be expensive in a way that’s hard to see while you’re living it. The late fees look “random.” The unused subscriptions feel “small.” The groceries that spoiled seem like “bad luck.” Add it up over months and years, though, and you may realize you’ve been paying an ADHD tax that quietly drains your budget and your energy.

I’m Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and a person with ADHD, and I make a simple case: ADHD treatment isn’t a luxury, it’s an investment. We talk about the practical supports that can change your day-to-day life including ADHD medication, ADHD-specific cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and ADHD coaching. Then we get concrete with a listener-friendly checklist of common costs tied to poorly managed ADHD: forgotten memberships, impulse buys you never return, duplicate purchases because you can’t find what you own, replacement items you left behind, food waste, penalties from unopened mail, late payments, overdrafts, and even education costs from classes or programs that never fully crossed the finish line.

We also zoom out to the costs that can sting the most: vehicle tickets and repairs from neglected maintenance, change fees from missed flights, wasted admission tickets, and lifestyle-specific losses like dead plants or tools ruined by being left out. Finally, I challenge you to consider the income side of the ledger: the difference between what you’re earning now and what you could be earning if your systems matched your ability.

If you want a clear, no-shame way to understand what ADHD is really costing you and what support could save you, listen now, subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review. What’s the biggest ADHD tax you’re ready to stop paying?

Transcript

ADHD Treatment Is An Investment

Alex Delmar 0:00

ADHD treatment is not a luxury. You might think you can't afford to seek treatment for your ADHD, and I'll argue you can't afford not to. I'm Alex Delmar, a certified ADHD coach and person with ADHD. Welcome to Thoroughly ADHD where I share what I've learned to help other people with ADHD enjoy better lives. When you make the investment to obtain medication, participate in ADHD-specific cognitive behavioral therapy, or work with an ADHD coach, you will almost certainly end up better off financially than if you do nothing.

Meet Your ADHD Tax

Alex Delmar 0:46

To see if this is true for you, I've put together a list of some common expenses related to living with badly managed ADHD, sometimes referred to as the ADHD tax. There's no guilt or shame here. Be honest with yourself. And it doesn't need to be perfect. Guesstimates are great. Just keep track of the items that apply to you and then add the amounts up. The goal is to see how much you might comfortably put toward managing your ADHD so you can reduce or even eliminate unnecessary costs in the future.

Subscriptions And Stuff You Forgot

Alex Delmar 1:28

So here they are. No longer relevant subscriptions and club memberships. Clothes hanging in your closet with the price tag still on them. Never -used or used once sports equipment, hobby supplies, kitchen gadgets, and power tools. Items you've had to replace because you left them behind or that broke when you dropped them. Food that went bad because you forgot you had it, or you bought too much in a row, or you left it out on the counter. Cost of purchasing multiples of something you only need one of, but you couldn't find the thing when you really needed it.

Fees Debt And Dropped Plans

Alex Delmar 2:13

Things you meant to return but missed the window, presents that you never gave to the intended recipient, impulse purchases that you couldn't use and turned out to be non-refundable, costs related to not opening your mail, like having liens removed, shut-off fees, and tax penalties, late fees and expedited delivery fees, costs of having a higher interest rate on your credit card due to a late payment. Overdraft and returned check fees. Online classes you forgot to attend. Tuition and fees for educational programs you didn't get credit for because you dropped out, failed out, or you did all the work but never completed the final presentation, paper, or licensing exam.

Cars Travel Home And Yard Costs

Alex Delmar 3:09

Unnecessary vehicle costs such as parking tickets, speeding tickets, or other moving violations, towing fees, body work for dents and scrapes, costly repairs due to neglected maintenance, over mileage fees, repossessions, change fees for missed flights, wasted admission tickets, and reservation deposits because you got the date or time or location wrong, plants that died from sheer neglect, seed packets never planted, tools ruined from being left out in the yard, fines for violating HOA rules or city ordinances. You should also include any money wasted specific to your circumstances or lifestyle.

How To Add It All Up

Alex Delmar 4:04

It might be helpful to look at just the last two years or a specific period of time. After you've added everything up, divide by the number of years you're looking at. Is this an amount you are comfortable throwing away every year? What steps are you willing to take to stop doing it?

Coaching And Your Earning Potential

Alex Delmar 4:56

When you have ADHD, if you want to minimize this unnecessary waste, from minor annoyances to major debt, you need to understand how your brain works, how to leverage your strengths and how to use systems, routines, reminders, rewards, external scaffolding, accountability, and support from others to your benefit, and

Alex Delmar 4:57

that is what coaching specifically can do for you. One more cost that might spur you to action is considering the difference between what you're earning now and the amount you could be earning if only you had your act together.

Closing And Next Week

Alex Delmar 5:16

I know your time is valuable, so I hope you found something useful here, and you'll come back next week for a new episode of Thoroughly ADHD. Thank you.